The present invention relates to a SPHERICAL SYSTEM FOR THE CONCENTRATION AND EXTRACTION OF SOLAR ENERGY, and more particularly to apparatus for collecting the radiant energy of the sun, concentrating it and supplying it in the form of heat energy to other apparatus for converting the heat energy to useful work.
The system of the present invention is particularly directed to the conservation of fossil and fission energy sources by collecting and converting the radiant energy from the sun into forms useful to man. A number of approaches have been made to the problem of collecting solar energy, but these have largely been impractical for various reasons. Some systems, such as the photo-voltaic cell, have proved to be fairly effective, but the cost is prohibitive for other than highly specialized uses. Mirror and Fresnel lens systems require complicated and expensive heliostat tracking drive systems to keep them pointed to the sun. Other systems require relatively fragile equipment covering large areas of land. All of these systems suffer from the problem of dust, mud and the like obscuring and cutting off the radiant solar energy, thus greatly reducing efficiency.